Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Your Morning Dump...where baseball has always been more than just a game.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

“This is a game. This is baseball, but it means a lot to the city of Boston. It means a lot to the people that live there,” Will Middlebrooks told reporters. “If we can just get something on the TV aside from replays of the events from yesterday, I think it’ll help a lot. Hopefully we can go out and play well.

WEEI: Red Sox hope that playing offers relief & reprieve to Boston

Baseball in this town was never just a game. It's always been much more. The reason why Bostonians would brag that we were the best sports fans in the world was because we always took it so personal. Tourists and outsiders always thought the brutal weather made us bitter. It was more frustration from the Red Sox coming short yet again. The misery of the Red Sox was something that was a rite of passage for younger generations. 

I haven't seen this city as happy as I did on the morning of October 28th, 2004. The city was filled with people wearing the iconic red "B" on their head and chest, smiles going cheek to cheek, strangers hugging each other. 

It's also why Sox fans have been on a rampage against John Henry and the rest of Fenway Sports Group as the purity of the Red Sox was slowly sucked out and our loyalty to the team was abused as a way to suck us dry. A businessman toying with our pride and joy felt like a personal stab in the back.

And after our city being rocked to our core over a horrific attack just 48 hours ago, watching the Red Sox take the field was a step towards normalcy. Seeing that "Boston Strong 617" jersey in the dugout was more than a gesture. It's saying that this team is here for us, that we are on their minds and they are here to help us get through this.  All those years of worrying about this team and they will return the favor when this city needs it the most. 

The Boston Marathon and Patriot's Day as a whole may never be the same. Hell, we may never be the same. Going back to something that resembles what we considered normal is an uphill battle. The Red Sox started by taking the field and it was fantastic to just get sucked into a game. Tonight, the Bruins pick up where the Sox left off. The Celtics will do the same the following evening and they will pack the TD Garden and the North Station area and we will bring that passion and over exubrance that we're known for.

Then on Friday the Sox return to Fenway and we will flock over to Lansdowne Street. We will root for the home team and belt out Sweet Caroline louder than ever before and while we help the team by rooting them for a victory, they will help us get one step closer to that normalcy. 

 

Globe: Seemingly trivial pursuit | Situations is in their thoughts | A few notes from Cleveland | Herald: Sox sound rallying cry | Sox left in shock | Big Papi on way | CSNNE: Picking up where they left off | Napoli heating up at the plate for the Sox | Sox past & present struggle with tragedy | WEEI: Ortiz talks about marathon | Sweet Caroline plays all over the park | Tito knew what he was doing | Napoli, walks lead Red Sox past Indians

How we see it goin' down: Rays - Sox series

First Pitch: Friday 7:10, Saturday 1:05, Sunday 1:35, Monday 11:05

Arms: Friday: Alex Cobb, RHP  (1-0, 0.00 ERA)  vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

Saturday: David Price, LHP (0-1, 8.18 ERA) vs. Jon Lester, LHP (2-0, 1.50 ERA)  

Sunday: Jeremy Hellickson, RHP (0-1, 6.35 ERA) vs. Clay Buchholz, RHP (2-0, 0.64 ERA)

Monday: Roberto Hernandez, RHP (0-2 6.08 ERA) vd. Ryan Dempster, RHP (0-1, 3.60 ERA)

                                  Yard: Fenway Park   Watch it: NESN   Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 4-5	Record: 5-4
On road: 1-2	At home: 1-2
Streak: W1	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Zobrist (.364)	Average: Nava (.421)
Homers: 4 tied (1)	Homers: Middlebrooks (4)
RBI: Zobrist (9)	RBI: Ellsbury/Napoli (8)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Moore  (2)	Wins: Buchholz/Lester (2)
ERA: Cobb/Moore (0.00) | Wright (0.00)	ERA: Buchholz (0.64) | 3 tied (0.00)
K's: Moore (13)	K's: Dempster (15)

Last time

The Red Sox and Rays split their last series in mid-September at the Trop. Doubront and Aaron Cook got the wins for the Sox and Dice-K laid an egg, as he usually did, for the worst loss of the series,13-3. The Sox were outscored 20-7 in the two losses. At least they got two games out of it.

This time

Laser Show: Will Middlebrooks

Middlebrooks is only batting .222, but Rays pitching is struggling, which is unusual for that club as of late. Pitchers have learned not to pitch to Will in his wheel-house, but if Rays pitching doesn't improve in this series, you can count on Middlebrooks making them pay for mistakes. .

Pitch Around: Ben Zobrist

Ben Zobrist is killing opposing pitchers in this young season. Zobrist has come up big in key situations, batting .600 with 4 RBI in situations with 2 outs and RISP. His average is much better when he bats right, but his homer and 7 out of his 9 RBI have come from the left side. Translation: He is dangerous from both sides of the plate. It's still early, and a trip to cold Fenway could ice him.

Don't Fall Behind: Alex Cobb

Young, Boston born, Alex Cobb, was lights out in his first and only start of the young season. Cobb went 7 1/3, scattering 4 hits, 3 walks and stuck out 6. Compared to the rest of the staff's performance (with the exception of Moore), that's pretty damn good. Even when not compared to the rest of the staff, it's pretty good. The Sox need to act early against him, and not let him get into any rhythm. Try to work some walks and tire him out to get to the bullpen early.

How we see it goin' down

It is tough to win a 4-game series, especially against AL East teams. Given the poor performance of Rays starting pitching, the Sox' chances of coming away with 3 wins are pretty good. The definitely win the pitching matchups, which is good enough for me to predict a series win for the Red Sox. 

First Pitch: Friday 7:10, Saturday 1:05, Sunday 1:35, Monday 11:05

Arms: Friday: Alex Cobb, RHP  (1-0, 0.00 ERA)  vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

Saturday: David Price, LHP (0-1, 8.18 ERA) vs. Jon Lester, LHP (2-0, 1.50 ERA)  

Sunday: Jeremy Hellickson, RHP (0-1, 6.35 ERA) vs. Clay Buchholz, RHP (2-0, 0.64 ERA)

Monday: Roberto Hernandez, RHP (0-2 6.08 ERA) vd. Ryan Dempster, RHP (0-1, 3.60 ERA)

                                  Yard: Fenway Park   Watch it: NESN   Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 4-5	Record: 5-4
On road: 1-2	At home: 1-2
Streak: W1	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Zobrist (.364)	Average: Nava (.421)
Homers: 4 tied (1)	Homers: Middlebrooks (4)
RBI: Zobrist (9)	RBI: Ellsbury/Napoli (8)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Moore  (2)	Wins: Buchholz/Lester (2)
ERA: Cobb/Moore (0.00) | Wright (0.00)	ERA: Buchholz (0.64) | 3 tied (0.00)
K's: Moore (13)	K's: Dempster (15)

Last time

The Red Sox and Rays split their last series in mid-September at the Trop. Doubront and Aaron Cook got the wins for the Sox and Dice-K laid an egg, as he usually did, for the worst loss of the series,13-3. The Sox were outscored 20-7 in the two losses. At least they got two games out of it.

This time

Laser Show: Will Middlebrooks

Middlebrooks is only batting .222, but Rays pitching is struggling, which is unusual for that club as of late. Pitchers have learned not to pitch to Will in his wheel-house, but if Rays pitching doesn't improve in this series, you can count on Middlebrooks making them pay for mistakes. .

Pitch Around: Ben Zobrist

Ben Zobrist is killing opposing pitchers in this young season. Zobrist has come up big in key situations, batting .600 with 4 RBI in situations with 2 outs and RISP. His average is much better when he bats right, but his homer and 7 out of his 9 RBI have come from the left side. Translation: He is dangerous from both sides of the plate. It's still early, and a trip to cold Fenway could ice him.

Don't Fall Behind: Alex Cobb

Young, Boston born, Alex Cobb, was lights out in his first and only start of the young season. Cobb went 7 1/3, scattering 4 hits, 3 walks and stuck out 6. Compared to the rest of the staff's performance (with the exception of Moore), that's pretty damn good. Even when not compared to the rest of the staff, it's pretty good. The Sox need to act early against him, and not let him get into any rhythm. Try to work some walks and tire him out to get to the bullpen early.

How we see it goin' down

It is tough to win a 4-game series, especially against AL East teams. Given the poor performance of Rays starting pitching, the Sox' chances of coming away with 3 wins are pretty good. The definitely win the pitching matchups, which is good enough for me to predict a series win for the Red Sox. 

Your Morning Dump...where Hanrahan had quite the meltdown.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Hanrahan, who recorded just two outs, faced seven batters and gave up five runs on three hits, including two home runs, and two walks. He also threw a two-out wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score, before surrendering a game-losing, three-run homer into the Monster Seats by Manny Machado.

“Probably trying to go a little too hard, trying to make things happen with my arm instead of trusting my mechanics," Hanrahan said after the game. "Sometimes you get in a tight situation, you just try and go harder. As athletes we tell ourselves to slow down and relax, and sometimes it’s not that easy.”

Manager John Farrell had some good things to say about Hanrahan's outing.

"[He] had very good stuff [and] looked to be on the verge of closing it out until [a two-out] base-on-balls [to No. 9 hitter Nolan Reimond," said Farrell.

CSNNE: "You could almost see Hanrahan's meltdown coming"

Well Farrell isn't going to come out and bash his closer and technically he WAS a strike away from getting out of the game with his 100th career save. He had the strike against Nate McClouth but the umpire didn't call it.

But how Hanrahan looked last night, he wasn't going to get any calls his way. He was all over the place last night. His was overthrowing his fastball and had no command of his slider whatsoever. Hanrahan even admitted afterwards that he was "trying a little too hard". 

It's been two straight shaky appearences for the Sox closer and is giving some Sox fans flashbacks to the infamous Eric Gagne which is never a good thing. It also doesn't help that Andrew Bailey has looked like a stud every time he's been on the mound this season. Farrell is staying with Hanrahan as closer but if he has a couple more meltdowns like last night, he might have to make a switch.

Globe: Hanrahan blows save | Remy treated for recurrence of cancer | Herald: Drew finally makes debut | Fenway Park streak ran its course | Victorino, Ellsbury miss-communicate |  Dempster minimizes damage despite errors | Hanranhan hands Orioles win in 9th | CSNNE: Humility won't hurt after end of Red Sox streak | Hanrahan implodes in ninth | WEEI: This is where it gets interesting | Farrell on Hanrahan: "Obviously, he's our closer" | Hanrahan implodes in Sox loss | Remy says he's fine after cancer relapse

Your Morning Dump...where Drew gets called up & Iglesias is sent down

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Red Sox optioned shortstop Jose Iglesias to Triple-A Pawtucket and activated shortstop Stephen Drew from the disabled list on Tuesday, sources confirmed.

 

Drew had been on the 7-day concussion DL after being hit in the helmet by a pitch on March 7. In four rehab games with Double-A Portland he hit .154, going 2-for-13 with a run scored, a home run in his last game on Monday, three RBI, two walks and three strikeouts.

 

In six games this season Iglesias hit .450, going 9-for-20 with three runs scored, two doubles, an RBI, and three strikeouts. 

CSNNE: Iglesias optioned, Drew activated

The Iglesias era is over for now but at least he made the most out of the opportunity. He's a much improved player at the plate and doesn't look like the player who went 8-for-68 last season. His willingness to bunt to get on base is also a welcome sign. 

Now we get to see what impact Stephen Drew can have on this team. He's got more pop in his bat and is a better fit to drive in runs in the bottom. He doesn't have the speed that Iglesias has but his range and defense at short might shock a few people. 

This isn't surprising anyone as Farrell said this Drew would be the Sox starting shortstop no matter how hot Iglesias got at the plate. But suddenly there is a little pressure on Drew to produce right away with Iglesias hanging in Pawtucket waiting for another call up to the Majors. If Drew stumbles for the first week or so, Farrell will be getting asked a lot about what to do at shortstop. Hopefully, Drew starts strong and show why the Sox signed him. 

Globe: Boggs wants his number retired | Sellout streak coming to an end | Jon Rish quits WEEI | Herald: So far, Red Sox' offseason experiment looks good | Bad news for Iglesias | End of Fenway Park sellout streak at hand | CSNNE: Prognosis is good for Lackey after second opinion | Sellout streak likely to end | Bradley Jr. has a hole in his swing | WEEI: Don't sell Drew short | Prognosis for Lackey is good | Ortiz gets two hits, Morales throws an inning

So far, so good with the 2013 Red Sox

The Red Sox front office is bracing itself for something they haven't dealt with since May 2003. For 794 games, Fenway Park has been sold out and unless there are a few thousand people that have nothing to do on a rainy Wednesday night, the infamous streak that Fenway Sports Group bragged about will end. It's the only statement left that Sox fans can make against an ownership that lost sight of what Red Sox fans care about. 

In an off season of debating when the "next great Red Sox team" would arrive, a majority of Boston fans wrote off the Red Sox this season, believing that 2013 would be a step in the right direction, and that the process of returning to perennial contendership was going to take at least two or three years. A few believed they didn't do enough to start the rebuilding, that Jackie Bradley Jr should not only be starting, but they should have let go of a majority of the vets and just start fresh.

The promos and commericals didn't help this either. John Farrell's edict promising that this team would play hard and try and win fans back sounded more like a marketing ploy than anything else. 

What a difference a week makes.

The season is only seven games young yet this team has generated more buzz than the entire 2012 team, as the Red Sox are off to the best start in five years and already this team has shown off its versatility. 

Small ball? bunting? double steals? There hasn't been a Sox team that has manufactured runs like this in quite some time. Nor has there been one as overly aggressive as this team is. Suddenly, those that got lured in by the debut of Jackie Bradley Jr. were left with their hearts fluttering over the hustle of Jonny Gomes, scoring from second to home on an infield single. 

What makes it even better, after getting just two hits on Saturday, and just before any speculation would start about this team being too one dimensional, the offense flexed their collective muscle on Toronto's new ace and took to the Blue Jays to the woodshed. It may be the earliest a team has had a statement game but there was a big one made on Sunday: that the Red Sox aren't just going to roll over and give up. Maybe this is the next great Red Sox team and we just don't know it yet.

What was concerning everyone was the starting rotation. It was hard to take the Sox as face value that all Jon Lester & Clay Buchholz needed was John Farrell to go back to the form they had when Farrell was their pitching coach. So far, they are 4-0 1.04 ERA this season, a stark contrast to the efforts they had last season. If the Sox want to have any hopes of playoffs, they need these two to continue on this roll that they are on. 

Again, the Sox are only seven games into the season. Six of them were against the Scranton Yankees and the Miami Blue Jays. Baseball always has a couple of teams that burst out of the gate only to fade quietly to the back of the pack. This team is no different as they need to prove that they can maintain this play throughout a season and see how they stack against the elite of the American League. 

So yes come tomorrow night, the Sox streak will finally come to an end. Sadly for the first time in 20 months, there's a team worthy of playing in front of a packed house at Fenway. 

Nava's home run is all the offense Buchholz needed in 3-1 win.

Daniel Nava hit a three run homer in the bottom of the seventh was all that Clay Buchholz needed as the Red Sox have won their third straight, beating the Orioles, 3-1. 

It was a pitcher's duel between Buchholz and Wei-Yin Chen, as both of them only allowed a couple of singles and walks until the seventh when Dustin Pedroia started the rally with a single and Mike Napoli getting the first extra base hit of the game, a double to deep center that was almost in the bleachers.

After Will Middlebrooks struck out, it appeared that Chen would be leaving for Tommy Hunter, who had been warming up for a little bit to face Nava. Three pitches later Nava would take Chen's offering to Landsdowne Street and Chen would get taken out right after. 

Nava has been playing really well in the utility role so far this season. Getting the start in left field over Jackie Bradley Jr, he went 2-for-2 with a walk. He's now homered in two straight games and has reached base 10 times in 17 plate appearances.  

But back to Buchholz for a second because he was filthy today. He went seven innings giving up three base hits & four walks while striking out eight. The Orioles couldn't get a baserunner past second base with him on the mound. The only run that Buchholz has given up this season is that home run to Travis Hafner against the Yankees. (0.64 ERA) It's the total opposite of 2012 Clay. THIS is the Clay Buchholz we've been hoping for. All it took was for John Farrell to return.

After Buchholz left in the seventh, Andrew Bailey got the hold in a 1-2-3 eighth, striking out two and getting another to fly out to center. Joel Hanrahan made his Fenway Park debut and after making Adam Jones look foolish with a fastball, Jones returns the favor by taking a slider left over the plate into the Monster seats to make it a 3-1 game.

Hanrahan would then get the white hot Chris Davis to ground out to Napoli, who made a great play, and then gets Matt Weiters to strike out for the second out. JJ Hardy would make it more interesting by hitting a wall ball double but Ryan Flaherty would pop up in foul ground at third to end the game.

The Sox have now won three in a row for the first time since July 29th-31st. They'll look for their fourth win Wednesday evening. 

Red Sox lose Mauro Gomez to Blue Jays

The Red Sox absolutely destroyed the Blue Jays on Sunday but it appears the Jays decided to get some payback, hitting the Sox in the depth chart, claiming Mauro Gomez off of waivers from the Red Sox. The Blue Jays tweeted the move earlier in the day.

The Sox signed Gomes to a minor league deal last February and he really took off in Pawtucket, batting .310 with 24 home runs, 74 RBI, and a league leading .589 slugging percentage. He was called up to Boston a couple times throughout the year and faired well, batting .275 with two home runs and 17 RBI, in 37 games between first and third base.

Between the signing of Mike Napoli and the emergence of Daniel Nava, it made Gomes more expendable to the team. It certainly didn't help that he had a rough spring at the plate, batting.156 with no home runs and a slugging percentage of .200 He was designated for assignment to make room for our savior, Jackie Bradley Jr., on March 31st.

It's a little jab to the Sox depth but the Sox are hoping that Mark Hamilton can repeat Gomez success. Like Gomez, the Sox signed Hamilton to a minor league deal and in three games, he's 4-for-12 with a home run and five RBI's. 

Hopefully Mauro will get an opportunity up in Toronto at some point. The Jays immediately optioned him down to Buffalo but will probably get called up if Adam Lind continues to struggle at the plate (1-for-16). 

 

How we see it goin' down: Orioles vs Red Sox

First Pitch: Monday 2:05, Wednesday 7:10, Thursday 7:10

Arms: Monday: Clay Buchholz, RHP  (1-0, 1.29 ERA)  vs. Wei-Yin Chen, LHP (0-0, 3.18 ERA)

 Wednesday: Ryan Dempster, RHP (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Miguel Gonzalez, RHP (1-0, 2.84 ERA) 

Thursday: Felix Doubront, LHP (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta RHP (0-0, 9.00 ERA)

                                  Yard: Fenway Park   Watch it: NESN   Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 3-3	Record: 4-2
On road: 2-1 2012:46-35	At home: 2012: 34-47
Streak: Lost 2	Streak: Won 2

Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Jones (.538)	Average: Iglesias (.529)
Homers: Davis (4)	Homers: Middlebrooks (4)
RBI: Davis (17)	RBI: Napoli (7)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Ayala/Hammel/Gonzalez (1)	Wins: Lester (2)
ERA:  Gonzalez (2.84) | O'Day (0.00)	ERA: Buchholz (1.29) | Hanrahan (0.00)
K's: Hammel (5)	K's: Lester (13)

Last Time

The Orioles swept the Sox in Baltimore, which was part of the eight game losing streak that ended the season. The Orioles won the season series 13-5. 

This Time

Laser Show: Will Middlebrooks & Jacoby Ellsbury

Middlebrooks is coming off a career game, going 4-for-5 with three home runs. He's been hitting the ball hard all season and it was only a matter of time before they turned into hits. After being shelved with a wrist injury last summer, he's got to be excited for his return to Fenway.

Meanwhile Ellsbury is showing how dangerous he can be as a leadoff hitter, reaching base to start the game in the past three and also racked up four steals as well. 

Pitch Around: Chris Davis

Davis is the hottest hitter in the Majors right now, homering in his first four games of the year and has already driven in 17 runs this season. Despite his lack of success at Fenway in his career, (.227 AVG, .278 SLG in 24 games), I would hope that the Sox pitching staff errs on the side of caution with Davis at the plate.

Don't Fall Behind: Wei-Yin Chen

The Taiwanese lefty had a good year against the Sox last season: 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three starts. The Sox did manage to get 21 hits off of him but Chen was able to work out of a lot of jams. Chen does have a habit of giving up the long ball as he allowed 29 home runs last season so the Sox can make him pay for putting runners on base. 

How we see it goin' down

The offense bounced back pretty well from Saturday's two hit performance by destroying RA Dickey and the Jays bullpen, so I'm not too worried about the offense. It's Ryan Dempster & Felix Doubront that has me concerned. Both of them had shaky first starts of the year and if the Sox want to win the series, they need one of them to step up. Doubront has solid career numbers against the O's (3.13 ERA, 1.087 WHIP in six games) but has yet to beat them. He'll get it on Thursday as the Sox take two out of three.

Recap: Farrell, Sox take Game 1

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

The Red Sox beat Toronto 6-4 -- blah blah blah -- we'll get to that in a moment.  The big story here is that everybody's favorite Jose Iglesias got hit with a Josh Johnson fastball in the arm and had to leave the game.  The good news is that he stayed in the game for a spell after getting pegged (and made one of those soon-to-be-patented spectacular plays at short).  It's officially a "right arm contusion" and it's unknown whether he's going to miss any games because of it.

In Iglesias' place, Pedro Ciriaco came in and did Pedro Ciraco things.  He went 2-4 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base.  He's now batting .500 on the year, which is just a tick below Iglesias' .583.  Sample size be-damned, I can't believe I get to write that Jose is batting almost .600!  Dreams really do come true.

Some non-Iglesias stuff happened too, I guess.  Most notably, Mike Napoli hit his first home run with the squad (2-run blast in the 5th) and later drove in Gomes for the go-ahead run on a groundout in the 8th.  Middlebrooks also hit his first home run in the 9th.  Pedroia and Victorino were the other Sox to get multiple hits.  And the obligatory JBJ update: 1-4 with a walk and credited with a stolen base.

On the mound, Doubront held his own against the re-tooled Blue Jays lineup.  He gave up 9 hits over 5, but struck out 6.  3 of the Jays runs were his.  Uehara needed 9 pitches to get through an inning of work, with 2 strike outs *yawn*.  Tazawa gave up a home run to Reyes (who had a hell of a night) to tie the game.  He was credited with a blown save, but also got the 'W'.  Bailey and Hanrahan shut tag-teamed it from there.

Another solid win for Boston.  It's still early, but there's a lot to like about this Sox squad.

BOX SCORE

Your Morning Dump...where Iglesias won't be in the Majors for long.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

It is a luxury. It is not a controversy.

Jose Iglesias has been been a surprising early contributor to the Red Sox. But he remains, for now, a place-holder at shortstop. Stephen Drew is set to begin what is scheduled to be a four-game rehab assignment on Thursday with Double-A Portland, four weeks after he suffered a concussion when a fastball hit him squarely in the middle of his helmet.

Barring a setback, Drew likely will be activated next week, perhaps as soon as the Red Sox' home opener at Fenway Park on Monday. When he joins the big league team, Iglesias will head down to Triple-A Pawtucket. There's no gray area, no door ajar for the younger player to wedge himself into the Sox' lineup and to displace the veteran who signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal this offseason.

"We're certainly not going to take away from what Jose's done, but we signed a premium guy in the offseason to be our starting shortstop and we're not going to look at an injury to cause him to lose his job," said Sox manager John Farrell.

Why Iglesias' start won't alter Sox plans at SS

Damn. 

As a card carrying member of the Jose Iglesias fan club, this is disappointing to hear even if it was bound to happen. He's off to a hot start right out the gate, going 5-for-9 at the plate on top of his usual stellar play at short. But we all knew he was on borrowed time. Stephen Drew will be heading down to Portland to start his rehab stint and all signs point to him returning for the home opener on Monday.

Iglesias is continuing to evolve as a hitter. He looks more comfortable at the plate and it's amazing to see him be agressive with the bunts and use his speed to his advantage. One can only hope that he can continue to hit up in Toronto and at least make Farrell think twice about sending him down to AAA. Worst case scenario, Iglesias has a huge confidence boost and continues to work down in Pawtucket and prove he can be consistent at the plate. 

This isn't a knock on Drew either. When he's healthy, he can bring some pop from the left side of the plate and is able to hold his own defensively, which is why the Sox spent $9.5 million on him. But with the way Iglesias has played thus far, you can see why they only signed Drew for one year. 

Rest of the Links: Globe: Buchholz quiets Yankees | Ortiz, Drew making progress |  Jackie Bradley Jr. picks up a souvenir | Herald: Hot Sox two good for Yankees | 3-week plan for Papi | Victorino helping JBJ an example of changed team | Hard to believe this Yankee team | Dempster 'anxious' to take mound for Sox | CSNNE: Buchholz 'efficient' | Sox take second straight from Yankees, 7-4 | Ortiz may return in mid-April | WEEI: Sox, Buchholz get better of Yankees | Bradley Jr. collects first hit | Fenway opener possible for Drew's return